Waldgeflüster – Meine Fesseln

With so much black metal readily available these days it becomes harder and harder for any musician to make his or her own distinct mark upon the minds of the disseminating fan. Perhaps, for this reason, Winterherz – sole full-time member and songwriter of German black metal project Waldgeflüster – took three years to ensure the vision for his third full-length would culminate in a voice both singular in effect and familiar in technique. The result of this longtime effort – the epic, yet somehow subtle Meine Fesseln – unashamedly embraces melodicism as its core component, yet remains powerful and distinctly Teutonic. Delivered always in Winterherz’ native Deutsch, the vocal demands attention regardless of the form of its attack, smoothly swapping between both harsh and an almost martial cleanliness upon each track. Guitars sprawl across the sonic pallette, typically with a distortion-driven harmony line repeated throughout each song’s breadth, laying the musical foundation for open-chord atmospheres to fill in the canvas with thick, yet permeable pagan colors. Trusting others with his ‘child’ – Winterherz chose wisely when including others for various accoutrement; violins come courtesy Johann Becker of Austaras/Vukari (put to excellent use on the quiet closer ‘Trauerweide Teil II’), piano via Lukas Danninger of The Course is Black, and additional leadwork/mandolin via labelmate Austin Lunn of Panopticon/Seidr. The additions don’t bloat the proceedings, however; mid-paced (and honestly, soothing) black metal bookended with well-played acoustic guitars remains the method throughout, forming Meine Fesseln’s decidedly woodsy, heathen backbone.
Released on our Worm Gear editor-in-chief’s label here in the States (no conflict of interest here, haha) and Black Blood Records in Europe, Meine Fesseln easily surpasses 2011’s Femundsmarka – Eine Reise in drei Kapiteln, and ranks among Bindrune’s best releases to date, as evidenced by the fact I’m nearing my tenth play-through and the album has yet to show any wear. This is a deeply personal work that reminds one of extreme music’s potential to be art. Don’t let these ‘forest whispers’ pass you by. -Jim